British soul diva Adele, who is recovering from vocal surgery and wasn’t present at the awards, went into the night with the most nominations — four — and won three. They were Best Pop/Rock Album for “21,” Best Pop/Rock Female Artist and Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist.

Nicki Minaj opened the ceremony at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theatre performing her hit “Super Bass,” backed by French DJ David Guetta and dressed in a metallic outfit that turned her into a human audio system.

It began a winning night for Minaj who managed a clean sweep of the rap/hip-hop awards, taking home Best Rap/Hip-Hop Artist and Best Rap/Hip-Hop Album for “Pink Friday.”

“This one could actually make me cry,” Minaj said, while accepting her second trophy.

Jennifer Lopez dazzled in a flesh-colored catsuit covered in strategically placed diamantes as she performed a medley of her songs with rapper Pitbull — who later performed alongside Lopez’s ex-husband Marc Anthony — before picking up the Favorite Latin Artist award.

“Everybody says it but I didn’t expect to win,” Lopez said as she collected her award.

“It’s been a really amazing year in so many ways … exciting and overwhelming. I’m so grateful for all my blessings. Thank you to my family and my beautiful babies who inspire me every day.”

Beyonce, who is pregnant with her first child, was not present at the awards but sent a message of thanks after picking up Best Female Soul/R&B Artist, while Nashville-based pop rock band Hot Chelle Rae won Best New Artist.

Katy Perry collected a surprise award of achievement for becoming the first woman to score five number one singles from the same album — “Teenage Dream” — after performing her song “The One That Got Away” while dressed in a pink “Star Trek”-esque dress paired with her pink hair.

Christina Aguilera also provided a surprise, joining Maroon 5 on stage as they performed “Moves Like Jagger,” after the band picked up their first ever AMA award — for Best Pop/Rock Group.

“To get one of these, you have to have loyal fans,” frontman Adam Levine said of the awards, which are voted by members of the public.

Paying tribute to his fans, Bruno Mars won Best Pop/Rock Male Artist and thanked “his family back home in Hawaii,” while Rihanna won Best Soul/R&B Album for “Loud” and Usher collected Best Soul/R&B Male Artist.

Brad Shelton won Best Male Country Artist and Lady Antebellum collected the gong for Best Country Album.

The ceremony closed with LMFAO performing their hit “Party Rock Anthem,” with the band joined on stage by Justin Bieber, David Hasselhoff and YouTube sensation Keenan Cahill.